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Olaya Herrera Airport
Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport is an airport located in Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia, near the center of the city. The airport is named for Enrique Olaya Herrera, President of Colombia from 1930-1934.
History
Olaya Herrera was formerly the main international airport serving the City of Medellin and its surrounding areas until the construction of Jose Maria Cordova International Airport in the southern suburb of Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia, located about 7 km (4.3 Miles) from the city center. The Airport was once the headquarters and main base of operations for the now defunct Colombian airlines of ACES Colombia and West Caribbean Airways. ACES ceased operations in 2003 due to financial difficulties and its routes were taken over by national partner, Avianca, which moved all operations to Cordova airport. West Caribbean began suffering from financial difficulties in late 2004 and shut down all operations in September 2005, mainly due to two major air crashes, one of which received international attention. After the West Caribbean crashes were determined to have been caused by poor maintenance, the Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia striped West Caribbean and two other airlines their rights to operate under Colombian law after each of these failed to pass operational inspections. All three airlines were former tenants of Olaya Herrera.
Despite no longer having scheduled international flights, Olaya Herrera Airport retained its international status, partly due to the fact that the airport was once the major international airport serving Medellin, but also due to the fact the airport continues to have customs and immigration facilities allowing for charter and private international flights to occur. This allows the airport to become available for international aircraft diversions in case the Rionegro airport is unable to fulfill this need.
The airport recently installed numerous large television screens provided by Scala [*], in the main terminal. These screens are meant to provide passengers with up to date arrival and departure information but are also designed to entertain passengers with music and Macromedia Flash animations. They are meant to replace the old flight information system which was not electronically controlled.
Airlines
Aerolinea de Antioquia
Aexpa
Aires Colombia
EasyFly Apartado, Bucaramanga, Carepa, Cucuta, Monteria, Pereira, Quibdo)
SATENA]]
Chartered Services
Heliandes (Helicopter Charters)
Searca Colombia (Charter Airline)
Sarpa (Charter Airline)
Helicol(Helicopter Charters)
TAC (Charter Airline)
See also
Jose Maria Cordova International Airport
Medellin
External links
Olaya Herrera Airport (Spanish)
Colombia's Civil Aviation Authority Website (Spanish)Need more information for your travel research or homework?
Ask your questions at the forum about Airports in Colombia or help others to find answers.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Olaya Herrera Airport
